Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Notre Dame Invitational
Pianin Sprints to Top-20 Finish at Notre Dame Invite
10/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Notre Dame Invite -- Team & Individual Results
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Sophomore Jena Pianin put forth a career performance at the 59th annual Notre Dame Invitational Friday, dropping nearly 90 seconds below her previous 5K career best to earn a top-20 finish against a nationally competitive field.
Pianin raced to a time of 16:45.9 -- well below the 5K mark of 18:12 that she posted exactly one year ago on the very same course in South Bend -- and took 20th overall in a field of more than 160 runners.
Pianin's effort led the 'Cats to a 12th-place finish (330 points) in the competitive Blue Division for a second consecutive year. The field featured three nationally ranked squads (No. 12 New Mexico, No. 29 Butler and No. 30 Penn State) and a total of four Big Ten programs (Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State, Purdue).
New Mexico claimed the team title in the Blue Division, with ACC representatives North Carolina State and Notre Dame placing second and third, respectively.
Another sophomore, Andrea Ostenso, also showed significant year-over-year improvement at the meet with a time of 16:50.7, good for a 27th place finish and a reduction of nearly a minute from her Notre Dame Invite time as a freshman.
Likewise, junior Elena Barham achieved a career-best 5K time of 17:28.6 to place third among NU runners.
Freshman Isabel Seidel -- whose older sister, Molly, placed fifth overall at the event for the host Fighting Irish -- crossed just two seconds behind Barham with an impressive showing of 17:30.5.
Complete results from South Bend are linked in PDF format at the top of the page.
Next week, the 'Cats will send a contingent to the Lucian Rosa Invitational in Kenosha, Wis., before NU's top runners gear up for the Pre-Nationals event in Terre Haute, Ind.
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